If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

What does it mean to use strips instead of foundation? (Robert Benchley mentions this in his post.) What are the pros and cons of plastic foundation on honey supers? Can I mix frames of plastic with other frames in the same super? I accidentally put a hole the size of a quarter in a piece of foundation. Will the bees fill in the hole, or should I start with new foundation?
Thanks for yur help.

I couldn't find the post you wrote about on the strips...it's midnight here and I've had a long day. So untill I find it I will not try and give you a answer. Now the pros & cons of plastic foundation and frams...if Dee Lusby reads this she will do much better about the plastic issue, but plastic isn't the best thing for bees. Plastic is poris and can become contaminated....yeah, yeah so can wax, but you can remove your wax and sell it, starting fresh and new, better and chepper than removeing alittle wax and throwing the plastic foundation away.(contamination happens even faster if you put chemicals in your hives)Also plastic by itself will contaminate your honey and hive. For the pros...it is easer, but that doesn't mean it's better.

Now as far as the hole you put in the foundation. It depends on where in the hive the foundation is going. If it is on foundation that is going for honey extraction, you might not want to use it if you think it will be to weak for the extractor. If you can put the missing/broken piece back in place the bees will show it little attention and draw it out. If it's going into the brood area I may or may not try to put the peace back, but I would try to use the foundaton some where. I hope I've helped you.

Strips are 1-inch strips of foundation which the bees then pull out into complete combs. I used them last year to see what size comb the bees would then draw; I might well have dome better to have used complete sheets of foundation. If you're short of foundation or want to experiment, it's worth bearing this method in mind.